Question

Explain displacement reaction with an example.

Answer 1

The reaction in which a more reactive element displaces the less reactive element from its compound or salt solution is called displacement reaction. The general representation of this reaction is:

$\text{A}+\text{BC}\to \text{AC}+\text{B}$

For example,
During the reaction of iron with copper sulphate solution, iron being more reactive than copper displaces copper to form iron (ii) sulphate solution and copper.
The reaction involved is given below:
$\mathrm{Iron}\left(s\right)+\mathrm{Copper}\mathrm{sulphate}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)\to \mathrm{Iron}\mathrm{sulphate}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+\mathrm{Copper}\left(s\right)$